Wired networks, such as LANs, allow nodes to be connected to and communicate with each other by transmission of packets. A broadcast packet is a packet which is addressed to every node in a network. In a network having one or more loops, there is a risk that broadcast packets may circulate for a prolonged period or indefinitely.
Switches are used in networks, especially but not limited to Ethernet LANs, to route data packets to a desired destination. Switch stacking allows several switches to be connected together; e.g. to increase the number of available ports, allow scalability, or facilitate easier management of the switches. In some cases the switches in the stack may have the same IP address. Stack control messages may be used to manage the stack.